Wednesday night, at the request of Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella, umpires went to the Red Sox bullpen at Fenway Park and made the relievers turn off a television. It was not the first time the issue had been raised.

After being swept in four games in Boston on Aug. 22-25, the Mariners complained to the commissioner's office about the flat-screen bullpen television because, as general manager Pat Gillick said, "we thought something was going on."

That something would be stealing and relaying pitch location and selection from the bullpen to the batter through visible signals. Gillick didn't outright accuse Boston of cheating but pointed to the statistics: The Red Sox bat .317 at home and .264 on the road. Their on-base percentage is 53 points higher at home. Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra is batting .371 at home and .244 elsewhere.

"I'd suggest that you look at the discrepancy in their on-base percentage and batting average at home and on the road and draw your own conclusions," Gillick said.

"They've been cheating all year," said an American League scout. "We've been trying to find out how, but we knew there was something."

The Mariners never heard back from the commissioner regarding their complaint.

Wednesday night, the Red Sox claimed to have written permission for the TV, though they could not provide it at the time.

Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin said in a radio interview yesterday that the team had asked for a TV because the Yankees have one in their bullpen at Yankee Stadium. Mariners reliever Armando Benitez, who was traded from the Yankees to the Mariners in August, was evasive when asked after yesterday's game whether the Yankees had a TV in the bullpen.

A source close to the Red Sox said the TV at Fenway had been in place for less than a month.

Steve Rippley, the chief of the umpiring crew at Fenway on Wednesday night, said, "You can't have any electronics in the dugout or the bullpen. That's been a league rule forever."

"First of all, it's not legal," Piniella told the St. Petersburg Times. "Second of all, we don't have one in our bullpen. Our pitchers like to play Donkey Kong, too."

There's at least one other bullpen in the AL with a television, at The Ballpark in Arlington. Mariners manager Bob Melvin asked Rangers manager Buck Showalter to keep the television turned off during this series, and Showalter complied.

The Rangers also have an unusually high home advantage: 36 points batting, 42 points in OBP.

"The excuse they use is that the bullpen guys can't see the field and need the TV to see the field," Gillick said. "I don't think that's valid. I don't think there's any reason there should be a TV in the bullpen."

If there's a television at Safeco Field, it must be in the visitors' bullpen. The Mariners hit 19 points better on the road than at home.

RAINED OUT: The game wasn't rained out yesterday, but one Mariner was.

The 1 hour, 40-minute rain delay after the fourth inning forced Seattle to remove starter Freddy Garcia from the game.

The move came at a poor time for Garcia, who had allowed just one hit and struck out three in four innings. Thanks to two double plays, he'd faced the minimum number of batters.

"I felt good, but it was just too long," Garcia said. "Of course I want to pitch, and in that situation you want to be tough. If it was like 45 minutes, maybe, but this was too long."

MIXED FEELINGS: Ben Davis is back in the fold, having returned to the team yesterday after missing three days to attend the funeral of his grandmother.

"It was weird being there and the team I've been with all year is somewhere else trying to win a pennant," the catcher said. "I'm watching the highlights and here I am in Pennsylvania while they're playing in Texas."

Davis got plenty to eat back home, which is a good thing as he struggles to keep weight on during the season. He's only about 15 pounds lighter now than when he reported for camp. In the past, he has finished the season as much as 30 pounds lighter than he is now.

"I think my metabolism might be catching up finally, and I won't have to pack it on so much," he said.

RARE AIR: Ichiro Suzuki has been struggling at the plate of late, but at 196 hits he's a shoo-in to get to 200. That will make him the third player to get 200 in each of his first three seasons, joining Lloyd Waner (1927-29) and Johnny Pesky (1942; 1946-47).

Melvin expects well over 200 out of his right fielder.

"It seems like he's hitting three balls a game right at people," he said. "Especially when they're playing in at first and third playing for a bunt, you'd think more of those would be getting through. If he keeps swinging the way he is now, he's going to get hot. I think he's going to get real hot."

STRANDED: The biggest missed opportunity for the Mariners yesterday came in the fifth inning, when John Olerud doubled leading off in a scoreless game.

Mike Cameron was allowed to swing away and struck out for the 130th time this season, tying him for the AL lead. Randy Winn and Rey Sanchez both grounded out to shortstop, and Olerud never left second base.

"It's Cammy's job to get him over somehow against the lefty (Rangers pitcher Erasmo Ramirez)," Melvin said. "Cameron hits lefties better, so I was comfortable letting him try to get him over there. When you're not scoring runs, it's the little things that end up costing you games at times.

"If it looks like rain (might end the game), there's a good chance we run for John there and try to get things done. But the forecast was clear at that point."

DON'T YOU MISS HIM? Alex Rodriguez, when asked if it was satisfying to beat a good team like Seattle: "They're not a good team, they're a great team. Obviously they are in the middle of something very special."

SHIGGY SHOCKED: Shigetoshi Hasegawa took the loss, his third of the season, when he failed to get an out in the 10th inning. It all started with a leadoff double by Rodriguez.

"It was a slider away," Hasegawa said. "If it's a ball, I knew he was not going to chase it. So I had to throw a strike, and I did."

"Alex leads off with a double against one of the best relievers in baseball," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "That sets up the whole inning."

With first base open and Rodriguez the only baserunner who mattered, Melvin chose to walk Mariner-killer Rafael Palmeiro. Hasegawa then went 3-0 on Mark Teixeira and walked him to load the bases. Laynce Nix followed with a single to shallow left that ended it.

"I did my best, and they could hit, that's it," Hasegawa said. "I don't have any regret at all. I was focusing on each pitch, and I think I made some good pitches today."

NOTES: It was just the second time this season the Rangers have won when scoring three or fewer runs, making them 2-49 in that situation. ... Mariners reliever Rafael Soriano was back in action after being out Wednesday with back soreness. ... Carlos Guillen homered for the second consecutive game, running his season total to seven. He has hit safely in 30 of the past 34 games.